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Italian Porky Goodness @ Mediteca

Porky lovers stand up and rejoice. Mediteca @ Fraser's Place in will be your new playground. Porky goodness in the form of Italian and Mediterranean touches set in a warm and cozy ambiance. Will have to say that service is remarkable and when owner Chef Riccardo is around, be prepared to be entertained with his inspiring and entertaining stories that comes with his dishes.

What you will taste in Mediteca is authentic Italian and Mediterranean dishes. No fusion stuff. Too many a times people have been tasting fusion Italian that one actually forgets what the original and authentic taste is all about.

While waiting for dinner to be served, we noted that there was lots and lots of pickles and relishes. Turns out that Mediteca make their own pickles. From lemons to cucumbers, egg plants etc. This is one happy playground for Sarah and I who both absolutely adore pickles. And thanx to Chef Ricardo's generous sharing, I am now in the middle of making my own pickles too.

Walk around and you will see some items for sale too. Yes you may purchase some of the Italian imported food if you want too for you to have an Italian Mediterranean meal at home. And if you are lazy...well head on to Mediteca and be spoilt by Chef Ricardo and his team.

Retail therapy possible for imported goodies:D

Pickles and jam galore. I think I could have happily parked myself here with some breads and ham.

I love seeing chefs in action and here we have Chef Ricardo at work with his Italian cold cut machine that was recently brought in. This machine slices thinly and evenly according to the specification that you want.

Chef Ricardo preparing amuse bouche of Culatello Ham.

Starters was a hint on the exciting dishes to come. A refreshing Aperitif of Prosecco, Aperol, Soda water and a slice of Orange RM30++ to kick start our meal. It worked well to drive our appetite into a further overdrive.

Match made in heaven - culatello ham and an aperitif.

Amuse Bouche of a thin layer of Culatello Ham wrapped with homemade grissini with tomato chutney. Nice blend of flavours and textures.

Appetiser of Bruschetta "Nduja" Salami & Artichoke RM28++ is terribly addictive. And for me its spicy salami-chilli spread specially imported from Italy. Keeping the flavours in place, the marinated artichoke and rocket leaves helps to neutralise the spiciness.

A crunchy base, spicy spread with a refreshing appetizer.

In case you're wondering what Nduja salami looks like.

3 types of Tapas soon follows. Everything is memorable and if I have to choose one only, the veal tongue is definitely my choice!

Lingua - Warm Veal Tongue with Cress Pickle, Red Onion and Salsa Verde RM26++ (note that the portion served was slightly bigger than the usual tapas serving as there were 3 of us during dinner)

portion) Regular tapas serving would be RM12++.

The hubster has never tasted tongue in his entire life. I refused to tell him what it was until he took his first bite. This delicate dish is accompanied by salsa verde, red onion and cress aioli mayonnaise. I love the veal tongue on its own. It tasted like meat and thus is not a surprise that the hubster took 3 slices and ate it with a little of the accompaniments with the red onion being his fave pairing.

Chorizo - Stewed Spanish Sausage with Herbs & Garlic RM16++

A little pot of comforting and tasty chorizo stew. Dip the toast into rich gravy bursting with with tomatoes, garlic and herbs.

Prosciutto San Daniele, Chorizo and pickles.

The mains that soon arrived were just as charming and intriguing as the tapas we had above.

Paella di Puerco - Chorizo & Iberico Ribs RM36++

My clear favourite for the night. Fluffy and superbly flavourful rice were so lovely that I pretty much ate most of it. The marinated Iberico ribs were juicy and tender. The whole dish made tastier with some Chorizo sausages. Sounds rich? Definitely not as the in house marinated lemon gives it a nice punch.

Pork cheeks stewed in wine overnight before another round of delicate cooking processes makes this is an utterly melt in your mouth meat bursting with flavours. I must say that the pumpkin chutney went really well with the richness of the meat, lending it a nice delicate sweetness.

Can't make an Italian mean complete unless we have some form of carbs. The tiny parcels of ravioli with a buttery rich sauce is delightfully fulfilling. A creamy filling made of fontina, ricotta, potato, and sausage.

The lovely accompaniment to our main courses was the Italian Nero D’Avola 2011. Easy drinking and certainly is a perfect pair with our meat and cheesy mains.

Dessert. Never complete a meal without dessert! Each of the following dessert is RM19++.

Splashy - Strawberry and Italian meringue

A refreshing dessert of pureed strawberries, meringue crumble, rum and natural yoghurt. The inspiration behind this dessert is Chef Ricardo's grandmother who used to blend strawberries to convince him to eat strawberries. Funny but its true story.

Can't help but to think that this dessert makes a good accompaniment to my morning of oats and muesli too!

Changes - Chocolate and passion fruit gateau

No reasons not to love this rich dark chocolate laced with passionfruit. Its a happy dessert too when you bite into popping candy that's embedded into the chocolate itself. Something like the little sugar pops I ate at one time in my primary school days.

Classic- Churros and chocco sauce

Firmer churros dusted with cinnamon, sugar to be coated foth drak chocolate. Oh my...give me more. I promise you I will run off the sinfully good calories tomorrow:D

Café Bondale - Coffee, cacao dark, almond, chocolate and cinnamon (The 3 glasses of coffee liquor served were not the actual serving portion).

I am not bothered if this coffee would keep me awake at night. This coffee liquor was delightfully rich and creamy making it a perfect end to our night of mesmerizing Italian Mediterranean porky dinner.

So for those of you who crave authentic Italian Mediterranean and of course some porky goodness then Mediteca is the place for you!

missyblurkit

Foodie, marathoner, petrolhead, a girl and naturally curious, do join me in my adventures:P Let me take you through things that I find interesting and hold close to my heart including cooking, animals, traveling and the list is still growing...